Town Square

Gang crackdown in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park

Original post made
on Nov 28, 2012

Fed up with more than a dozen shootings between rival gangs in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park, police from East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and Palo Alto are joining forces to quash the crimes, East Palo Alto police Chief Ronald Davis announced Tuesday.

Posted by Hmmm
a resident of East Palo Alto
on Nov 28, 2012 at 11:23 am

Yep, EPA resident. This is the drill - make a big deal out of a crackdown months after it starts, instead of starting sooner but minus the media interest.

I wonder, once this crackdown is complete, if there will be another community meeting full of denial from gang members' families, much durm & strang and everyone holding hands and praying. I'm just a little cynical.

It's a little scary to send our much-loved PA police over to these areas to help but we have to do something. There are so many wonderful families in EPA and EMP that are stuck living with the gang situation. You know these gangs are fighting over stuff that, in the grand scheme of things, are probably not important. The families that live in these areas need help so they can feel safe. Bless our PA police for doing it!

My guess is a big contributor to gang participation is the employment aspect of it. Anyone on probation or with a misdemeanor on his/her record is out of the workforce, unless they have friends or family members who can employ them. It's bad enough that the economy sucks and we aren't training youth for the jobs that are out there, but this scarlet letter makes it much worse. The gangs solve that problem. Need a job? We have openings in stealing and dealing, and an occasional shooting.
Obviously it is not the sole reason for gang membership, but it is a big issue with individuals and practically creates the revolving door on its own. It creates a vacuum that gangs are only too happy to fill.

Posted by Wondering?
a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Nov 28, 2012 at 1:51 pm

Back around 1991, when EPA rightly earned the title "Murder Capital of the USA", the PA Police joined with the EPA police to help put a lid on things. It's good to see that they are doing this again.

However, the question remains--by what authority does the PA Police move out of its jurisdictional bounds, even across county lines? Did the police chief make this decision without consulting the City Council? In short, just how much authority does a California Police Chief have--and where did they get that authority?

Posted by G-TOWN
a resident of East Palo Alto
on Nov 28, 2012 at 6:11 pm

Same old same old noise and no action.I have hope but no faith in police intervention,sorry call it what you want. [Portion removed by Palo Alto Online staff.] Some folks from the streets do not like or trust police,but then you have those who team up with them.This has gone on for years same old same old.FUNNY THAT THIS IS NOT OK IN PALO ALTO THEY WANT EVEN ALLOW A POT CLUB IN P.A BUT YET EVERYBODY SMOKES DAM THERE.I have a suggestion HELP in the way you can.I help by doing the right thing and leading by example and that is what i can do WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Posted by Herstory Buff
a resident of Old Palo Alto
on Nov 28, 2012 at 7:58 pm

When we first started looking for a home in Palo Alto, our agent told us not to look too close to EPA, because the gang crime spilled over into the Crescent Park and University South neighborhoods. She also advised us to stay away fom any area south of Charleston, because of Russian gang activity. Don't even approach northern Mtn View, she warned, due to Chinese gangs.

Two decades later it seems that the only gangs left are the ones in EPA. It seems that EPA needs to find out exactly what Palo Alto and Mtn View did to rid itself of Russian and Chinese gangs, respectively, and triple the intensity. The other two are probably wimps compared to what EPA has.